Oopsies
by FlatOutCrazy
Summary: When Sarah gets pregnant, she and Jack have to figure out what in the world they're going to do. Not to mention, they have to face their family and friend's reactions.
1. Chapter 1

They hadn't meant to do it. It was a stupid excuse, but true. Neither of them was really ready, and neither had ever done that before. They weren't drunk, they weren't sad, they were just together and it had happened. They weren't particularly smart about it, but they weren't exactly regretful, either. Even in the aftermath of everything, they couldn't help but smile shyly when thinking about that night.

* * *

"I can't really believe you've been dating my_ sister_ for a whole _year_," David Jacobs whined to his best friend, Jack Kelly. He was torn. A part of him had wanted Sarah and Jack to get together, but then another part was repulsed.

"Well, I _have_ been, so would you just _get over it_? Jesus, Davey, you're driving me a little nuts here." Exasperated, Jack lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He was getting increasingly nervous, and his best friend wasn't helping, for once. Said best friend grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it with his shoe.

"You're going to kill yourself," David snapped. "Besides, you know Sarah hates it. It makes you stink."

"But I'm jittery, and it calms me down, so you just made my hit list." David just rolled his eyes.

"Why exactly are you jittery? You've been going out for a year. Did you just now realize that Sarah has really bad breath and she picks her nose when she thinks no one's looking?"

"Um, ew. But no. I'm jittery because I've never ever been with the same girl for so long, and it just kind of…weirds me out." As soon as he said it, Jack wished he could take that sentence back. David immediately made the shift from Best Friend to Protective Brother.

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I—"

"Are you saying you're going to dump her or something?"

"N—"

"Because that would just be a really shitty thing to do to _my sister_, you know."

"David, shut up! If you'd just let me talk for once, maybe I could explain what I meant!" David crossed his arms, waiting for Jack to talk, but Jack didn't really have anything to say. He just wanted David to shut up. But now he _had_ to say something.

"It's not a bad weird," he said finally. "It's just a different weird."

"That doesn't make sense." Angry Brother David was slowly softening.

"I just—well, this is probably going to creep you out, Dave, but…I think I might like, love your sister."

"…Uh…"

Jack ducked his head, feeling a blush creep up his face. He hadn't thought about it before, but now he was sure it was true. He'd never loved anyone like that before. Was _that_ what that bubbling feeling in his stomach had been for the past week? He'd been afraid he was developing an ulcer. At not-quite-nineteen.

"Dude, that's sick," David said, back into friend mode.

* * *

"Jack, this restaurant is so nice." Sarah lied through her teeth. It had the semblance of a nice, fancy restaurant, but was a far cry from the real thing. But it was the best Jack could afford, and he'd saved up for almost a month, so she really was being at least half genuine. He gave her a grateful smile for the charade.

"Well, you know, I wanted tonight to be all special…" He dropped off with a shrug, hoping she didn't notice him blushing. She did, and it made her blush too.

Sarah was so nice and high off Jack's presence, she didn't even mention the hair she found in her salad, which so did not belong to her. But he saw it anyway, and, in an attempt to be chivalrous, wanted the waiter to bring her another one. Unfortunately, Sarah wasn't really hungry anymore.

To top it off, on the wayhome,Jack's old, beaten down station wagon started sputtering and decided to die.

"So…this night kinda ended up sucking, huh?" Jack wanted to cry. He kind of had this thing where he always wanted things to go right, but they seldom did. There was a word for it, he was sure, but the only thing that came to mind was _failure_.

"I think it's pretty okay," Sarah half-whispered into his ear, her hand on his thigh.

That was how it had happened. They didn't think much in the way of consequences, just knew that it had felt right, and neither had wanted to stop. So they didn't.

And for a week after, they'd had those stupid lovey smiles on their faces and couldn't get enough of just _being_ together. They didn't even do it again.

However, about a month later, things didn't seem so wonderful.

* * *

A/N: So,it's short for now, I know. This is basically all about Jack and Sarah, plus the rest of the Jacobs family. The other Newsies will be appearing, though, so don't worry. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Um, Jack?" Sarah's eyes were red and puffy. Concerned, Jack wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What's going on?"

"I'm—I'm—" She shuddered against him, and he stroked her back.

"Sarah, what is it?" He started to feel a little frightened, and his voice wobbled a little.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered.

He stopped rubbing her back. He stopped worrying. He stopped thinking. He stopped breathing.

"Uhh…what?"

She knew he'd heard her. Her eyes full, she nodded. He wanted to ask if it was his, but stomped on that right away. He knew it was, and asking would only hurt her.

"Are you—are you sure?" She nodded again.

"I took a test."

"Oh God…I think I'm gonna puke." He did, as she stood crying quietly next to him. He sank to the ground and put his head in his hands. She sat next to him and put her hand on his back. Both were shaking. Jack took a deep breath.

"Okay. Um, so, I'll be nineteen in two weeks. Okay. And…and you're already nineteen. Okay. So, really, we're not _that_ young. I mean, it's better than being still in high school. Right?" He searched her face. She nodded to reassure him, and he went on babbling.

"Okay, so…well, you can still go to school, until the baby comes, and then afterward, you can go back, and I'll take care of it, so you can graduate—"

"Jack," she interrupted. "I can't go to college, not now."

"What? Yes, you can. I just said, I'll—"

"If either of us is going to go to college, don't you think maybe it should be you? I—I don't need to." She was trying to be strong and firm about it, but her trembling lower lip kept giving her away. Jack pushed his forehead against Sarah's.

"I'm sorry." His voice came out in a wobbly whisper, tears in his eyes. His tears made Sarah lose her own, and she sobbed into his chest.

"My parents—my family—Jack, what are we going to do?" He wrapped his arms around her.

"Well. You know what? Let's get married, first of all." She pulled back, surprised.

"Married?"

"Yeah. I mean, everyone thinks about going to college, getting married, having kids. Right? So that's what we'll do. Just not exactly in that order." He was trying to make her laugh, or at least smile, so she did, for his sake.

"You really want to get married?"

"You don't?" He asked worriedly.

"Jack, of course I do."

"Okay then." He grinned at her. "Sarah Kelly? How does that sound?"

"Perfect."

* * *

David had the house to himself. Mayer and Esther had won a raffle drawing for a weeklong cruise. So they were off in the Bahamas or someplace tropical like that, and they called at five every evening, guiltily remembering they had three children at home eating Top Ramen for every meal. Sarah was out, most likely with Jack. Les was at his youth football league. Esther hadn't been thrilled with the prospect of her tiny son playing football, but Jack had played football, so it'd become Les's one desire in life. David pretended it didn't bother him that his little brother worshipped Jack instead of David.

Since he was blissfully alone, David had no qualms whistling and singing as he went to the bathroom. With the door open, so he could still see the TV. He was watching a documentary about Stalin, and didn't want to miss any of it, even to pee.

Sometimes, when Sarah got very upset, she didn't think clearly. Which was why, as he was washing his hands and happened to glance down into the garbage can, David caught sight of…a pregnancy test. A _positive_ pregnancy test. He gaped at it, mouth wide open. Even in the state he was in, he couldn't helpmentally berating his sisterfor being so stupid. She couldhaveat least covered it up or something, so the **POSITIVE** wasn't glaring out for anyone to see. The apartment door swung open, and he saw Jack and Sarah.

"Um, David, why is the bathroom door—"

"_Sarah. Esther. Jacobs._" His voice was gasping, his eyes still trained on the garbage. It took Sarah about two seconds to realize what he was looking at in the garbage, and she paled.

"Now, David," she said, in her calmest voice. Jack suddenly caught on, and shifted his weight nervously, trying to wish himself invisible.

"You're pregnant!" David shouted at his sister.

"Yes," she said coolly. "I am."

"You—you—you _whore_!"

The word rang out through the kitchen. The only sound after that was a man speaking in Russian, and the English voice over. Something about horrible deaths. Jack thought maybe he could use some of those tactics on David. Funny, because David was thinking the same thing about Jack.

"David," Sarah's voice was choked. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so Jack picked up for her.

"How _dare_ you?" He yelled furiously. "Don't you _ever_ say that to her again! This isn't even her fault—it's mine!"

"How could it not be her fault?" David's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he whispered crazily, "Did you rape my sister?" Sarah had to roll her eyes at that.

"No, you idiot. It's not a _fault_, okay? Don't talk about my baby like it's a mistake."

"It is!" David bellowed. "It _is_ a mistake!"

"Stop it," Jack intervened. David whirled on him.

"You! What am I supposed to say to you?Thanks for knocking up my sister? By the way, get the hell out of my kitchen and get out of my damn house!"

David had never spoken to anyone like that, let alone his best friend. Jack wasn't sure what to do.

"Go!" David screamed. Stiffly, Jack turned.

"Jack, you don't have to do what he says," Sarah said defiantly.

"No," Jack answered quietly. "Maybe it's better if I go. Are you going to be okay?" He glanced at David out of the corner of his eye. Really, he knew David would never hurt Sarah. But this David was someone he'd never met before.

"I'll be fine. I'll call you, okay?" Quickly, Jack leaned in and kissed her. It was quick because David still had that crazy look on his face.

When Jack had shut the door behind him, Sarah pounced on her brother.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't think you should be talking like that, now that you'll be a _mother_." David said acidly. Inside, he was freaking out. This was his _sister_. His sister had been…doing things with Jack. His sister had been _doing_ Jack.He shuddered.

"Shut up, David. You think you're freaking out? How do you think I feel?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have gone and gotten yourself pregnant, then, huh?" His anger was starting to wane, though. He was getting a little embarrassed at himself. Not to mention ashamed. He'd called his sister a whore. Proud? Not at all.

"I didn't mean to." Sarah felt tears well up in her eyes. How could she even have any tears _left_? She felt like she hadn't stopped crying since she'd missed her period three weeks ago. Now David felt _really_ bad.

"Well, look," he said uncomfortably. "I mean…it maybe won't be so bad, right? I mean, you've always wanted kids. It's just a bit early." She sniffled, trying to pull herself together.

"Will you please not say anything to Mama and Papa when they call tonight?" He looked at her uneasily.

"You want me to lie?"

"No. It's not likethey'll be asking if I'm pregnant. Just don't mention it." Just then, Les burst through the door, muddy and smelling of sweat and grass. He noticed Sarah's tear-streaked face and David's somber expression.

"What's going on?" He asked, a little afraid. He couldn't really remember the last time he'd seen his big sister cry. She sniffed and smiled watery at him.

"Nothing. I'm just not feeling very well, that's all." Les looked to his brother for conformation. Forcing a smile, David nodded.

"No big deal," he lied.

* * *

A/N: I was going to make David stay crazy and angry for a few days, but David doesn't really strike me as staying crazy and angry for long. At least not at Sarah. He's not all the way okay with Jack yet, though. Coming up: breaking the news to parents. Ooh, juicy. 


	3. Chapter 3

Jack walked away from the Jacobs's apartment with his head down. He was nineteen, he was poor, and his girlfriend was pregnant. And he felt…nothing. Something had to be wrong with him. He did feel a little guilty. But he wasn't sad. He wasn't angry. He wasn't even scared. It just kind of…was. It was right up there with that time the ice cream man had run out of ice cream early. Well, actually, that was a bad comparison. He'd gotten a little enraged when he couldn't get his hands on a Choco-Taco.

He started thinking about money, and his lack of it. Jack may not have known much about raising kids, but he figured money was a good thing to have. He had a job. Well, sort of. He delivered newspapers. It paid twenty cents over minimum wage, and he was done by breakfast time. Sometimes he didn't even have to get out of his car. It was a great job for a teenage boy, but not so much for a father.

Okay, so…get a job. How hard could that be?

Two hours and four businesses later, he had two applications and no job. The first two he'd gone to wouldn't even let him apply.

"Sorry," the manager at the first had said, eyeing Jack's torn pants and the scab on his elbow. "We're not hiring."

The second had informed him to try the fast food industry. Without a college diploma, he wouldn't get much better, he was informed. And when he'd left, he'd distinctly heard the man mumble, "Grow some facial hair, kid." That had made Jack indignant. It certainly wasn't his fault he had a baby face! The businesses that _had_ given him applications did it solely to get rid of him. He was pretty sure he heard a paper shredder whirring after he left the last place. Finally, Jack broke down. He went to the McDonalds a block from his house and explained what he wanted.

He was welcomed with open arms.

* * *

"Jack!" Les cried excitedly. 

"Hey, buddy." Jack surveyed his young protégé. He was attempting to hike the ball, jump back and catch it, throw it, and run to catch it again before running to the other side of the yard to score.

"Uh, Les? Sorry, but there's a reason no team only has one person."

"I know, but Billy and Sam couldn't play, and Mike doesn't know how, and then I even asked David, and he said no, and Dad's not home, so…" He shrugged.

"Didja ask Sarah?"

"She's a girl." His nose wrinkled at the thought of playing _football_ with a girl. Jack laughed.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?" Les's tone had changed. He seemed serious, as serious as he could be with mud all over him.

"What's going on? David and Sarah have some big secret they won't tell me about, and you're being weird too. I asked David and he said there wasn't anything. Is that true?" His eyes were big, and Jack couldn't bring himself to lie.

"Well…you're right, there is something going on. But I can't tell ya. It's Sarah's choice, and she doesn't wanna tell you just yet. Sorry." Les nodded, and Jack started to head in.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you play catch with me?" He was pleading. Jack wanted to go see Sarah, but…

"Sure."

As David watched the whole scene from his bedroom window, he realized maybe Les looked up to Jack instead of him was because Jack was nice to him. He played catch with him, he didn't hide things from him, and he was never too busy to talk to him. Was that you had to do to get a little kid to like you?

* * *

"I think I'm gonna barf!" Sarah moaned. Mayer and Esther were on their way home. Les had blabbed, concernedly, that something was going on with Sarah and Jack and David, so they'd asked specifically that Jack be there when they got home. To figure out what was going on. So Sarah and Jack had decided to just go ahead and tell them. 

"Mom and Dad are home!" Les cried, throwing open the door, even though his parents still had to take the elevator three floors up. David bit his lip and patted Sarah's shoulder before following his little brother. Sarah and Jack stared at each other.

Oddly, Jack wasn't nervous at all. Well, maybe a little. But really…no matter how upset Mayer and Esther were, they couldn't change it. Sarah was still pregnant, and they had still decided to get married. So he felt fine. But Sarah was slowly hyperventilating, so he held her hand and squeezed it tight.

"Sarah! Jack!" Esther hugged them both as Mayer and David dragged in the bags. After the door was shut, and they'd sent Les into his room with several presents they'd bought him, Mayer looked seriously at the three almost-adults gathered at the table.

"So, what's going on?" He asked.

"Um…well, Papa…uh…" Sarah couldn't get the words out. So Jack decided to take over.

"Well, Sarah and I are going to get married, sir." He threw the 'sir' in for good measure. Both Esther and Mayer looked apprehensively shocked.

"But…why? You're so young. You're just children. Why would you choose to get married _now_?"

"Funny you should mention children…" David muttered. Sarah kicked him under the table.

"Mama, Papa…I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Wail.

Jack winced as Esther began to sob. Mayer looked dumbstruck. But only for a minute.

"You're _what_?" It wasn't really a question, because he didn't wait for an answer. "How could you do this? It goes against everything you've been taught, everything you believe! What about waiting until marriage?"

"Well, Papa—"

"And if you weren't, couldn't you at least be _responsible_ about it? How could you let this happen?"

"Papa—"

"You have disappointed us! What will everyone say? What are you going to do now? How will you support this child?" Sarah had shrunken back against her chair, and Jack was getting a little ticked. At least yell at _him_, too. It wasn't like she'd done it all by herself.

"Well, sir, we're going to get married, and I am going to support this child."

"With what money? The money you make with your paper route?" Mayer snarled this, and Jack was slightly taken aback. Mayer wasn't usually so nasty, even when he was angry.

"Well, I have that money, and I'll continue with that job, but I also got another job to help."

"Where?"

"At…" Jack hesitated. "At McDonalds."

"Oh, wonderful, no need to worry, I suppose. You have no college education! You can not get a real paying job!"

"Papa, that's enough."

Everyone was surprised. David was stepping in.

"It was a mistake, Papa, yes. But they're trying to make it right. Please, calm down and try to be rational."

In a movie, that would be the part where Mayer would shout, "Don't tell me to be rational!" and get even more angry. But his anger was already starting to ebb. The men in the Jacobs family just weren't angry people. Now that Mayer's face was slowly starting to lose the purple-red hue it'd taken on, Sarah added her own plea.

"And Papa, I can still work, for a little while. And I can work some lace, too." Esther owned an old-fashioned lace working company, where every piece was hand-made. Sarah had been making lace doilies by hand since she was twelve. And people paid a lot for hand made doilies. Sarah wasn't sure why, but she wasn't complaining.

Mayer Jacobs was a rational man. He could see that they'd worked this out. He held out his hands, resignedly, to show that, hey, fine, yeah, you got it under control. But he didn't have to be happy about it.

Esther, on the other hand, was pretty dang happy. She quickly got over the fact that this baby was premaritally conceived and focused solely on the baby part.

"A _grandchild_, Mayer, a _grandchild_!"

She repeated the phrase about eight more times before Les wandered in.

"David's having a kid?" He asked. David noted with displeasure an awful lot of incredulousness in there.

"No, sweetie, Sarah is." Esther commented distractedly. She was picking out names.

"But…Sarah's not married."

Everyone stopped.

"Uh…not yet she's not." Jack piped in cheerfully.

"Are _you_ marrying Sarah?" Les asked. Jack nodded, and Les's eyes shone.

"That means you'll be my brother!" He cried. Jack shot a quick, sideways glance at David, who was looking very sourly down at the table.

"Uh, yep."

"Oh wow!"

"Well, he probably wouldn't be marrying her if she wasn't already pregnant," David spat as he left the apartment and slammed the door after him. Any kindness he'd felt towards Jack was gone.

"Dave!" Jack yelled after him. He followed his best friend out the door. David didn't hold the elevator for Jack, so Jack, athlete that he was, took the stairs and met David at the bottom.

"Leave me alone," David hissed.

"No. What's your problem?"

"You got my sister pregnant!" They had left the apartment building and were wandering the cold streets.

"You seemed okay with it a little while ago." David stopped abruptly and turned so he was half facing Jack.

"It's just…everyone loves you, Jack. No matter what you do, it's no big deal. Everyone forgives you before they're even mad at you. And it just gets _so annoying_ sometimes." There wasn't a whole lot of anger in his voice, but definitely some bitterness.

"Oh."

"Yeah, and like, you saw my dad. As soon as you started talking, all charm and everything, nobody cared anymore, and suddenly we're all happy."

"Actually, Dave, you're the one who calmed your dad down. He was still mad at me, remember?" David shrugged.

"I guess."

"And the thing with Les…"

"It's no big deal."

"It's just that—"

"I said it's no big deal."

They sat in silence for a while before Jack threw an arm around David's shoulders.

"Well, Davey, I gotta say, thanks for helping back there. You really saved my ass. And…not to be corny and all, but you're my best friend, and I really don't want you to be mad at me. So…are you?" David sighed.

"No, of course not." He said. But even as he felt himself forgiving his best friend, he still resented him a little. That was allowed, wasn't it?

* * *

Next, we're going to head deep into the depths of...Jack's family. Specifically, his father. Scary, I know. Don't try this at home. Except you most likely _are_ at home. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah sat in front of the TV, ice cream on her lap, spoon firmly in hand, when one of those anti-drug commercials came on, the kind telling parents how important it was to talk to their kids about not doing drugs.

"It's eleven thirty PM. Do you know where your kids are?" The voice over asked Sarah.

"Actually, it's four thirty in the afternoon, and my kid is still in my uterus," she muttered.

What time did Jack get off on Tuesdays? She struggled to remember. On Tuesdays he was working until five, right? Tired of sitting on her butt (her pastime for the past two hours, at least), she decided to go visit him. McDonalds was a perfectly normal place for her to go visit her boyfriend. Fiancé. Whatever he was. Anyway, she had something she felt the two of them needed to do.

A blast of regulated air hit her when she opened the door. She looked around and spotted Jack clearing a table a soccer team had left littered with fries, pepper, and ketchup packets. A little smile crossed her face as she watched him work. Was it strange that she suddenly found purple polyester extremely alluring? He scratched at a spot behind his ear, smearing ketchup over half his face. Sarah heard his disgusted groan from her spot at the door and had to laugh. He looked up quickly, a smile lighting up his face.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked excitedly, putting his arms (hands now ketchup free) around her waist.

"Just waiting for you to get off…and then I thought maybe…" she hesitated. "Well, there's someone we haven't told yet."

"Who?" He asked absentmindedly, still trying to put on a pretense of work, in case his boss was looking.

"Your dad."

Jack stopped gathering ketchup packets. He pulled away from her, his eyes dark.

"We don't need to tell him anything."

"Jack. He's your dad. I know he wasn't the greatest—"

"Sarah!" He cut her off sharply. "You have no idea what it was like living with him. You don't know how he acted, how he treated me and my mom. I don't want to talk to him." Jack closed his eyes and exhaled loudly.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said softly. "I just thought maybe he deserved to know. And it's not like he ever gets visitors. You never go visit him. And the reason I don't know anything about him is because _you_ won't tell me." She tried to say the last part without accusation, but it still crept into her voice. Jack stared at her for a minute.

"I—I'm sorry. I know I've never really told you about…about how it was. But I really, really don't think it would be a good idea to go see him."

"Well, I'm going. I know his name, so I'll just go ask to see him. If you don't want to come, fine." She turned angrily and left. Jack made kind of a slashing motion with his hands across his face, further smearing the ketchup he'd forgotten was there.

"Hey, kid, I think you better go follow your little lady," his boss was suddenly at his side.

"I still have fifteen minutes of my shift. And she's being stubborn, and ridiculous, and getting into things she has no idea about."

"Well, since you came in half an hour early yesterday, you go on ahead and get out of here." He looked meaningfully at the door. "Oh, and about her being stubborn and all that?" Jack nodded. "She's a woman, kid. She'll always be like that."

* * *

Jack was still in his hideous McDonalds uniform when they pulled into the visitor's parking lot at the prison. His hands were shaking. 

"Just for the record, I warned you this would be bad," he told Sarah. She patted his leg encouragingly.

"Don't be scared." He looked at her openmouthed.

"Who said anything about being scared?" He asked, his voice getting higher with every word. She smiled and got out of the car. Poor sucker didn't know his every emotion was written across his face.

The guard led them to one of the seats in the visitor's room. All that separated Jack from his father was a thick sheet of glass. It was closer than they'd been in almost three years.

Sarah caught her breath a little when Jack's father stepped in. It was looking at an age-progressed Jack. The older man's hair wasn't as glossy as Jack's, and his eyes were getting dull with age and disappointment, but the resemblance was astounding.

"Francis," Jack's father said, surprised. "You've never come to visit me before."

"Jack." His son muttered. "My name is Jack."

"Ah, didn't want my name, I suppose? Still, your name _is_ Francis Sullivan, the second. I named you myself. But if you don't like the name, I guess I can play along. I remember now, you chose Jack after your mother's father, and Kelly after your mother. How endearing, really. But where are your manners? Aren't you going to introduce your little friend, _Jack_?" Sarah could see immediately why Jack never came to visit. His father had an oily quality that Jack didn't, and his voice was dripping with sarcasm and disdain. She looked over and saw Jack's fists clenched tight, and put a hand on his leg.

"This is Sarah Jacobs. She's my…fiancé." He'd half-glanced in her direction as he hesitated.

"Fiancé?"

"Yes."

"How old are you again?" Francis senior didn't seem to actually care. There was an incredulous tone in his voice, either because they were young, or he thought no one would want to marry his son. Probably both. Sarah very much regretted dragging Jack here.

"I'm nineteen. We're getting married…sometime soon."

"Why?" He asked this question not to Jack, but to Sarah. "What do you see in my son?" He laughed a little, and Sarah felt her blood boil.

"Your son is a better man than you could ever, _ever_ hope to be," she said coldly. "Unlike you, he doesn't run away from responsibility and come back when it's convenient." The only thing Jack had told her about his father was that when Jack's mother found out she was pregnant, Francis took off and didn't come back until Jack was nearly seven.

"Aha," Francis said softly. "Jack got you knocked up, eh? Like father, like son. I wouldn't expect your hero here to stick around." Jack made an angry sound next to Sarah, but she quieted him with a look.

"He did not get me 'knocked up,' thank you very much. It takes two to tango, if you know what I mean." Francis barked out a quick laugh, looking surprised.

"How'd a pretty little thing like you end up with an oaf like that?" He asked, jerking his head toward his only child. He leered toward Sarah. "I get out of here in five more years, if you're ever bored with the boy here…"

"You son of a bitch—" Jack was seething, and Sarah was feeling a little nauseas.

"Language, son. Watch how you speak to your dear old dad." Jack stood and grabbed Sarah's hand. Clearly, they were leaving. She couldn't honestly say it was too soon. Jack's dad creeped her out.

"You're not my dad." Jack said softly as he turned away. "You may be my father, but you were never my dad."

* * *

That night, Jack lay awake for hours. He needed to sleep, he had work in the morning…but he kept hearing his father's voice. "Like father, like son. I wouldn't expect your hero here to stick around…" 

There was a lot about Jack that was remarkably like his father. He was almost a carbon copy of him, for one thing. When Jack was drunk, he got very angry very easily. He'd inherited that from his father, but he comforted himself by remembering that he rarely drank, for that very reason. Jack rolled over to his back, finally allowing himself to think the worry that had been lurking in his mind for weeks.

Was he going to leave Sarah? Was he going to feel boxed in and just…leave her alone one day? Or worse, would he stay and treat her the way his father had treated his mother? He got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought about that.

When his dad had come back two weeks before Jack's seventh birthday, Jack had thought it was the best birthday present a kid could get. His mom had warily agreed. Three days later, when Francis came home drunk and outraged and flung dishes at Kelly while Jack cowered under the table, he decided maybe a bike would've been better.

He pressed his hands to his face. What if he did turn like his father? Would Sarah stick around for nine years, like Kelly had, until he finally killed her?

_He was sixteen years old, newly licensed, and already going by the name Jack Kelly. He'd been out with some friends, but made sure to be home by eight, when his father got off work. He didn't tell any of his friends why he always had to be home so early, but he didn't like leaving his mother alone with his father. Not that he could really do anything, but he could usually distract him enough for his mother to slip quietly into the other room. When he opened the apartment door, it was eerily quiet inside._

_"Mom?" He called out. He heard someone moving in the kitchen, and went to see what his mother was cooking. He found his father washing his bloodied hands. When he saw Jack, he panicked and ran. Jack didn't allow himself to think as he crossed to his parent's bedroom. His mother was lying in a puddle of her own blood. Her eyes were too wide open. Jack screamed and screamed and screamed until the neighbors finally came to investigate. He didn't stop screaming for half an hour._

Jack staggered to the bathroom and threw up several times. His nightmares were still haunted by his mother's eyes, huge and wide, and the blood that streamed from her head. Jack's father had finally been fired for his misconduct at work, and came home drunker and angrier than usual. When Kelly had gotten in his way, he'd punched her several times before shoving her roughly into the wall. Her head had hit the corner of the dresser and cracked, and Francis had calmly gone to wash his hands. Police found him two hours later trying to rob a 7-11 down the street. He'd been given eight years in prison. Since then, Jack had lived by himself in a small apartment in the same complex—not the same apartment; he couldn't handle that, but a few floors away. Technically, he should've been put in foster care or sent to live with other relatives, but as he always paid the rent on time and was a quiet tenant, the landlord kept his mouth shut.

Jack had never told anyone that his father was in jail for killing his mother. His friends knew that his mother was dead, and his father was in jail for some act of violence or another, but so far none of them had put two and two together. His friends had their own problems, too. Neither Snitch or Skittery's parents would accept that the two were gay, and together, no less. Mush's little brother had a brain tumor. Blink only had one eye, for crying out loud. Itey never let anyone go over to his house, because they had next to no money and a ton of kids.

Jack missed his friends. He realized suddenly that in the past month, all he'd done was work. It was necessary, yes, but certainly no fun. He felt more than tired, he felt…weary. He was sick of work already, and he hadn't even gotten a paycheck yet.

* * *

"Okay. Boys. Hey! You two, quit that. Wait until you get home, at least, that's my freaking couch!" Sarah wondered again why she had asked all of Jack and David's friends over. Oh, right. Jack's birthday. The guys finally quieted and looked expectantly at her. 

"Thank you very much," she said, a touch huffily. "Now. Jack's birthday is in two days. I think we should throw him a surprise party."

"Good idea!" Mush cried excitedly. He loved planning surprise parties. "He needs a break, all he ever does is work nowadays." Well, that made Sarah feel a touch guilty, seeing as how that was kind of her fault. Everyone kind of murmured assent, but it all sounded so pathetic next to Mush's enthusiasm. They tossed some ideas around—'they' really meaning Sarah and Mush, because the other guys figured they were doing their part by showing up. Snitch was in charge of getting Jack there, something that baffled him a little because he didn't exactly know what they were talking about, as Skittery's hands had been distracting him the whole time. Mush was going to help Sarah decorate, which made him bounce exuberantly on the spot and made her clutch her head.

"So the rest of us can just show up?" Race asked grumpily. Sarah had made him put out his cigar, so she wasn't his favorite person at the moment.

"Uh…I guess so. But don't be late, or you'll ruin the surprise!" She called, as they started slouching out.

Someone was going to be late, or something was going to go wrong, she could just tell. Something about Jack's friends always gave Sarah an exasperated feeling.

* * *

So, I threw the party in there because there needed to be something _fun._ The next chapter will be the party. Shocking that Sarah's worried about it not going right, huh? 


End file.
